Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Ocean Spray has announced that it is expanded the recall of certain production lots of its Original Flavor Craisins, Dried Cranberries product in 5-ounce, 10-ounce and 48-ounce packages, and bulk sweetened dried cranberries in 10-pound packages. The recall was made after it was determined that there may be the possible presence of very small hair-like metal fragments, though they are saying that it is unlikely to cause consumer injury.

The additional five recalled lots were only shipped to retailers in the following eight western U.S. states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. The current affected lots are as follows:

• 5 oz Craisins: UPC: 00293-000
Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED): Oct 27 2012 M and Oct 28 2012 M
• 10 oz Craisins: UPC: 29456-000 and 29464-000
Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED): Oct 27 2012 M; Oct 28 2012 M; Oct 29 2012 M; Oct 30, 2012 M
• 48 oz Craisins UPC: 00678-318
Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED): Oct 27 2012 M; Oct 28 2012 M ; Oct 29 2012; Nov 3 2012 M; Nov 4 2012 M; Nov 5 2012 M; Nov 6 2012 M; Nov 7 2012 M; Nov 8 2012 M; Nov 10 2012 M; Nov 11 2012 M; Nov 12 2012 M
• 10 lb bulk ingredient & foodservice: UPC: 03477-000
Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED): 30 Oct 2013 M; 31 Oct 2013 M; 1 Nov 2013 M; 5 Nov 2013 M

No illnesses or adverse effects have been reported regarding these products, and the company has received no customer complaints.

• Ocean Spray Recalls Craisins

Mars Food has recalled two date codes of Uncles Ben's Whole Grain White Rice Garden Vegetable, due to an undeclared milk allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

The recall, affecting ONLY the Whole Grain White Rice Garden Vegetable, affects the 4.7 oz. (133 g) boxes with the following:

• UPC code of 54800 40778
• Best before: 08/12
• Code dates: 133BA4RP06 and 133BB4RP06

An ingredient supplier improperly included an undeclared milk ingredient in the seasoning mix used for this product. As such, consumers with milk allergies are advised not to eat the product, and consumers should return the product to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.

This product was distributed through retail stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Mars Food US has not received any reports of illness or other consumer complaints related to this matter. No other flavors of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice or any other Uncle Ben's products are affected.

Ready Pac Foods is recalling a total of 5,379 cases of bagged salad products containing Romaine lettuce, as it has been determined that they may be contaminated with E. coli (E.coli O157:H7).

All bags are marked with the "Best if Used By" date of November 18. The following items have been recalled:

• 10oz. Ready Pac Caesar Romaine 0-77745-00202-6
• 9.25oz Ready Pac Santa Fe Caesar Complete Salad 0-77745-21404-7
• 10oz. Ready Pac Classic Caesar Complete Salad 0-77745-20566-3
• 10oz. Ready Pac Bella Romaine 0-77745-21407-8
• 10oz. Dining In Classic Caesar Salad Kit 0-11225-02530-3
• 10oz. Raley’s Caesar Romaine 0-46567-71642-8
• 10oz. Trader Joe’s Romaine Salad 0013-2145
• 16oz. Trader Joe’s Very American Salad 0020-7225
• 10oz. Safeway Farms Caesar Romaine 0-21130-98350-6
• 9oz. Safeway Farms Hearts of Romaine 0-21130-98358-2
• 10oz. Safeway Farms Complete Caesar Supreme 0-21130-33677-7
• 10.25oz Safeway Farms Complete Southwestern Ranch 0-21130-33679-1

The recall extends only to the listed products with this Use-by Date and sold in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. No other Ready Pac Foods, Inc. products are included in the recall.

United Natural Foods (UNFI) is recalling selected types of FoodMatch, Inc. Divina Stuffed Olives, as they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. These items have been recalled due to a lack of temperature control during the distribution process. UNFI inadvertently subjected the recall items to temperature ranges above those directed by the manufacturer.

The following products have been recalled:

• DIVINA 4 OZ OLIVES,FETA CHEESE STUFFED (blue and yellow label) UPC 63172352780
• DIVINA 4 OZ OLIVES,BLUE CHEESE STUFFED (blue label) UPC 63172352790

Divina Olives Stuffed with Feta Cheese were distributed to the Safeway stores identified below:

• #0583 1606 N Ave, Spearfish, South Dakota
• #1577 6520 S Academy Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• # 1615 3325 28th Street, Boulder, Colorado
• # 1644 7655 Mclaughlin Rd, Falcon, Colorado
• # 2761 1165 Main St, Lander, Wyoming
• # 2792 27152 Main St, Conifer, Colorado
• # 2910 1632 Hover Road, Longmont, Colorado
• # 0853 7625 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland
• # 0942 12 West Washington St, Middleburg, Virginia
• # 1283 8646 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia
• # 1606 9596 Old Keene Mill Rd, Burke, Virginia
• # 1668 5510 Norbeck Road, Rockville, Maryland
• # 1956 14939 Shady Grove Road, Rockville, Maryland
• # 2650 43150 Broadlands Plaza, Ashburn, Virginia
• # 4002 5727 Burke Center, Burke, Virginia
• # 4205 415 14th Street SE, Washington, D.C.

Date codes Best Used By: 11 JAN 2012 and Best Used By: 1 FEB 2012 sold at other retail outlets have not been affected because the products were not exposed to a lack of refrigeration controls.

Divina Olives Stuffed with Blue Cheese were distributed to the following states: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington DC through the following retail stores:

• Genuardis
• Carrs
• Safeway
• Pavilion
• Vons

Best Used By: 11 JAN 2012, Best Used By: 15 DEC 2011, Best Used By: 30 DEC 2011, Best Used By: 1 FEB 2012

These date codes sold at other retail outlets have not been affected because the products were not exposed to a lack of refrigeration controls.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

• Recall on Stuffed Bio Gaudiano Brand Organic Olives

Kimberly-Clark has announced a product recall of a limited number of its Kotex Natural Balance Security Unscented Tampons, as there are related health concerns.

The recall is limited to Kotex Unscented, Regular Absorbency tampons, and includes the 18 count and 36 count only, with the following product SKU numbers:

• 15063 (18 count)
• 15068 (36 count)

The Product SKU numbers are the last five digits of the product’s barcode and can be found on the bottom of the package.

The tampons were manufactured with a raw material contaminated with a bacterium, Enterobacter sakazakii, which may cause health risks, including vaginal infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs), pelvic inflammatory disease or infections that can be life-threatening. Women with serious existing illnesses, cancer or immune-compromised conditions, such as HIV, are at increased risk. There is limited evidence of transfer between individuals with this bacterium.

The tampons affected were shipped to retail customers between October 29, 2011 and November 2, 2011 in specific Wal-Mart stores in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas; specific Fry’s stores in Arizona; and specific Smith’s stores in Utah and Arizona. Not all stores in these states were impacted. All impacted stores have been alerted to remove the recalled product SKUs from shelves. A listing of stores impacted and the latest information can also be found on the Kimberly-Clark website and the Kotex brand website.

Consumers should contact a physician immediately if they have used the recalled tampons and experience unusual vaginal discharge, rash, fever, headache, vomiting or abdominal pains, particularly if they are HIV positive, have AIDS, cancer, an existing serious illness or may be pregnant.

Rice-A-Roni, the San Franscisco Treat....well, not for those with milk allergies anyway! Rice-A-Roni has recalled a small quantity of Rice-A-Roni Rice, Pilaf flavor, due to an undeclared milk allergen.

The affected Rice-A-Roni is limited to the 10.8 ounce family-size boxes, with the UPC Bar Code ending in 43004 and are stamped as Best Before Date of JUL 30 12 B on the bottom of the box. This product was originally distributed to stores in California and Arizona.

People who are allergic to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product, and as such, should return it to the retailer where it was purchased for a full refund.

No other Rice-A-Roni or Pasta Roni products are affected. People who do not have milk allergies can eat this product without concern.

Last week the lettuce recall was due to Listeria, this week we have moved on to Salmonella concerns.

Taylor Farms Retail Inc. has issued a precautionary recall of 3,265 cases of various salad blends, as a random test of packaged spinach showed the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The bagged salad products subject to the recall include:

• Fresh Selections Hearts of Romaine 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91044-8 TFRS277B07OOKR5L Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Leafy Romaine 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91046-2 TFRS277B07OOKR5H Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Field of Greens 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91042-4 TFRS277B07OOKR5F Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Romaine Blend 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91038-7 TFRS277B07OOKR5N Best By 10-18-11
• HEB Spring Mix 5 oz. bag 0-41220-19752-1 TFRS277B07 Best By 10-20-11
• Marketside Fresh Spinach 10oz bag 6-81131-32946-0 TFRS277A07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-21-11
• Marketside Caesar Salad Kit 14.6 oz. bag 6-81131-38744-6 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Asian Salad Kit 15 oz. bag 6-81131-53211-2 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Southwest Salad Kit 15oz bag 6-81131-38747-7 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Premium Romaine 9 oz. bag 6-81131-38753-8 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Premium Romaine Family 18 oz. bag 6-81131-38807-8TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Taylor Farms Field Greens 8 oz. bag 0-30223-04036-1 TFRS277B07 Best If Used By 10-20-11

The products were distributed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Puerto Rico and sold in various retail supermarkets.

No other products or code dates are affected by this recall, and there have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items.

• Lettuce Recall: Listeria Concerns

I've written a lot about how personal injury lawyers have to and should be dealing with medical and other liens. When I go back and look at the web traffic generated by these posts, it typically gets low page views, probably from the same 20 lawyers that read all of our nitty gritty details on handling personal injury cases stuff.

Not so with Haro v. Sebelius, a new opinion from Arizona that may dramatically alter the relationship between Medicare (and Medicaid but I lump Medicaid into Medicare for grammatical ease). I think the big difference in the impact of Haro v. Sebelius is something car accident and medical malpractice lawyers are feeling right now.

Here's the deal in a nutshell. Haro v. Sebelius is a lawsuit filed by two Medicare beneficiaries for whom Medicare benefits were paid for treatment that was ostensibly needed as the result of a car accident. Interestingly, the car accident lawyer in this underlying case is also a named plaintiff.

Continue reading "Haro v. Sebelius: Medicare Liens" »

The average jury award in Arizona personal injury cases is $820,486. The median compensatory award for personal injury trials in Arizona is $30,000. Plaintiffs struggle on liability in Arizona: plaintiffs received damages in 40 percent of personal injury cases that go to trial. The national average is around 53%.

Not surprisingly, the most common type of car accident lawsuits in Arizona are rear end collusion claims, which make up 27% of the motor vehicle lawsuits filed. Intersection collisions and turning collusions were also prominent at 13% and 12%, respectively. Truck accidents lawsuits were 11% of the overall total of accident lawsuits filed.

Seventy-one former Motorola employees have filed a lawsuit claiming exposure to harmful chemicals while producing semiconductors caused birth defects in their children. The plaintiffs worked at a plants in Schaumburg and Arizona between 1965 and 2007. The lawsuit alleges chemicals have caused the children suffer from birth defects leading to cerebral palsy, autism, blindness, spina bifida, language delays and epilepsy.

A school in Arizona was sued by a high school football player who injured his ankle during practice. The lawsuit blames the poor conditions of the practice field. The merits of this particular case is unknown but these kind of lawsuit make a lot of accident and malpractice lawyers a little squeamish because the "blame the school" approach turns off a lot of jurors to personal injury claims generally.

The interesting legal issue in this one is that the Plaintiff contains he lost a college scholarship. Tough argument because it is so speculative. In a famous case involving where a high school (and later college) wrestling great in Iowa (where else?), the court found that there was no property interest in a college scholarship until it was awarded Brands v. Sheldon Community School, 671 F.Supp. 627, 630-631 (N.D. Iowa 1987).

State Senator Jack Harper from wants to ask voters to let lawmakers limit how much Arizona juries can award to accident and malpractice victims. "This is probably the only year we will have a legislative makeup that will allow the measure to go to the ballot," said Harper.

Okay. But if this is the only year you can get it through, doesn't that underscore it is a really bad idea? A great selling point for politics. Less so for doing the right thing.

Arizona votes defeated a similar ballot issue in 1986.

Jury Verdict Research found that that the median money damage award in vehicle accident cases in Arizona is $16,929. Plaintiffs win money damages in 53 percent of cases that go to trial.

JVR also breaks down the type of accident: rear-end accidents accounted for 27 percent of the total number of plaintiff verdicts; intersection accidents accounted for 13 percent; turning collisions accounted for 12 percent; truck accidents accounted for 11 percent; chain reaction collisions accounted for 9 percent. All other liabilities made up 8 percent or less of the total.

I'm not sure why truck accidents were given their own category in the type of accidents. But this Arizona verdict data is interesting and I think reflects the relative proportions of the different types of vehicle accidents nationally.

A nursing home lawsuit in Phoenix on behalf of a the family of a man who died in a Phoenix assisted living facility was awareded $11 million in damages. According to the nursing home lawsuit, Liberty Manor Residency failed to properly monitor the man and falsified medical records which, not surprisingly, inflamed the jury.

You can find a story on the case here.

My two volume treatise Insurance Settlements is now available from James Publishing. The book discusses how to position a lawyer's car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice or product liability case to the best possible settlement at every step along the way (until the state's high court affirms the judgment).

Click on the James Publishing link. If you have any comments on the book, please email me at ronmiller@millerandzois.com under the subject "Insurance Settlements Comments."

Our lawyers are reviewing Byetta claims after the FDA announced this week that the diabetes drug has been linked to severe pancreatic problems in dozens of patients. On Monday, the FDA warned patients taking Byetta to discontinue use if they develop symptoms of the disorder. Further the FDA said that doctor prescribing Byetta should consider other prescription options for patients with a history of pancreas problems.

Since Byetta was introduced into the United States in 2005, more than 700,000 patients have used the Byetta.

Our lawyers are now exploring potential Byetta lawsuits. If you would like to discuss your case with a Byetta lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consulation/case evaluation (or even to answer any question you may have). For more information on Byetta and the concerns with Byetta, click here.

Last week, Digitek manufacturer Actavis Totowa recalled over 65 different drugs made at their New Jersey manufacturing plant. The list of recalled drugs (in some form or another) includes such generic drugs as Bellamine, Buspirone, Carisoprodol, Oxycodone Meperidine, and Rifampin. This strengthens the conclusion that the New Jersey plant that made these drugs may be the cause of irregularities in Actavis medications.

In April 2008, Actavis recalled Digitek, a drug prescribed to treat heart failure and irregular heartbeat because it was discovered that Digitek tablets appeared to have double the thickness – and likely double the active ingredient – listed on the label. When Digitek is given in abnormally high doses it can lead to digitalis toxicity which, paradoxically, worsens the problems Digitek is intended to treat, causing nausea or lower blood pressure and other side effects from the Digitek overdose that can lead to the increased risk of stroke or a heart attack.

If you would like to speak to a Digitek recall lawyer about a potential Digitek lawsuit, call 1-800-553-8000. For more information on the Digitek overdose recall or a free consultation on your potential Digitek case, click here.

Zimmer's Durom Cup hip implants are likely to be the subject of a good number of lawsuits from patients with the Zimmer implants. But they will not be the only ones. Apparently, Zimmer’s own shareholders may agree that Zimmer left its hip implant on the market way too long. Last week, shareholders of Zimmer stock filed a class action in Indiana. Interestingly, the lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who purchased stock between January 28, 2008 and July 21, 2008. This tells our Zimmer hip implant recall lawyers that these shareholders believe that Zimmer knew or should have known and issued a recall on or before January 28, 2008.

If your Zimmer Durom hip resurfacing cup was defective, call our Zimmer hip implant lawyers at 1-800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation.

More information on the Zimmer Hip Implant Recall
History of the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Recall
More information on the Zimmer hip implant recall lawsuits

Lawyers representing Digitek overdose victims have filed nine lawsuits in New Jersey against Actavis Totowa LLL and its parent company Actavis Group, alleging a manufacturing defect in Digitek, namely that some Digitek tablets have contained twice the active ingredient of the drug. Digitek recall lawsuits have also been filed in West Virginia and California.

Our Digitek recall lawyers are reviewing these Digitek overdose cases in all 50 states expecting that a consolidated class action lawsuit will be appropriate (as opposed to this scatting of individual cases). If you want to discuss your case with one of our Digitek lawyers call us at 800-553-8082 for a free consultation or click here for a free Internet consultation.

The Arizona Court of Appeals found unconstitutional yesterday an Arizona law placing limitations on whether an expert can testify at trial in medical malpractice lawsuits.

The Plaintiff’s medical malpractice lawyer, James J. Syme, Jr., found himself in a pickle because the trial judge, Maricopa County Judge Michael C. Jones granted the defendant’s motion in lime to strike Plaintiff’s only medical expert. Judge Jones very reasonably allowed Plaintiff time to find another expert but the Plaintiff’s lawyer could not locate another expert. (Note: this is usually not the sign of a great medical malpractice case.)

The Arizona Court of Appeals found that the statute Judge Jones relied upon in excluding the expert was unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers provision of the Arizona Constitution. Specifically, the court said that the Arizona Constitution confers on the Arizona Supreme Court the “power to make rules relative to all procedural matters in any court” and the Arizona Supreme Court has previously held that its rule making power is “exclusive and may not be infringed by the legislature.”

I’m thrilled that the Plaintiff gets a shot to have her medical malpractice lawsuit heard by a jury and it sounds like the court make the right call based on the existing case law. I also think the limitations placed by the statute – section 12-2604(A) are completely unreasonable. But does it make me a little uneasy that the legislature that is elected by the people cannot interfere in such matters? Yeah.